Fixing screen flashing for PJD7820HD projector and HTP-072 receiver

The ViewSonic PJD7820HD projector and the Pioneer HTP-072 5.1 channel home theater package both are cost effective products for entry-level home theater setup. However, when I first connected my laptop to the input of the HTP-072 receiver through HDMI, the screen of my laptop kept flashing. The screen first turned black for one second, then returned normal for another second, and then turned black again. Every time the screen returned to normal, the mouse cursor was reset to the center of the screen, causing my laptop not operable. The output of the receiver was connected to the projector through HDMI, and there was no signal on the projector.

The receiver manual suggested that the symptom might be a sign of incompatibility. While the receiver is HDCP-compliant, I found no clear evidence for the projector to support HDCP after some research online. At the same time, I replaced the projector with an HDCP-compliant monitor, and everything worked. I was about to return the projector since I thought it was not HDCP-compliant.

Some people also suggested online that the order of turning on the devices matters in some cases. I found that if I turned on the projector last, it would work!!!

My gut feeling was some settings were just not right. After trying a few suspicious ones, I found that if I turned off the Quick Auto Search under Source, the issue would be gone.

Turning off the auto search has no impact on me, since I almost always use HDMI, and there is only one HDMI on the projector. I am now able to enjoy the theater at home.